Truly A Man’s Best Friend

After consuming too many drinks at her boyfriend’s home, 56-year-old Christine Spain of Shirley, Massachusetts, decided to walk home along the railroad tracks last week. Good thing she brought along her eight-year-old pitbull, Lilly.

At some point, Spain passed out. While her owner lay across the tracks, Lilly heard the distant rumbling of a freight train. According to The Sentinel and Enterprise, the brave dog pulled Spain from the oncoming behemoth’s path. Sadly, Lilly didn’t clear herself from the tracks in time. The valiant dog lost muscle and skin from her front paw. Her pelvis was fractured in multiple places.

“I don’t know if she collapsed or what happened, but she passed out,” said Rob Halpin, spokesman for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “The engineer, the only witness, told police he saw a dog frantically pulling at a woman as he drew closer. He did everything he could. He heard a thump and thought he hit both.”

The engineer immediately hit the brakes and hopped off the train. He found Spain unhurt. “The dog’s head was on her chest,” Halpin said. “The woman was totally unharmed.”

Spain, a recovering alcoholic, was arrested at the scene and charged with multiple offenses, including animal cruelty.

Her son, David Lanteigne, is a police officer in Boston. Lanteigne placed Lilly with his mother to serve as her therapy dog.

“This dog is truly a special dog,” he said. “She’s been amazing since day one. My mother has given anything and everything to this dog. For the past three and a half years since she’s had this dog, it’s her entire life. She’s been eating, sleeping and breathing this dog. The dog is everything to her. She brings her on five or six long walks a day. She spends half an hour preparing all of her meals.”

“I truly believe things happen for a reason,” said Lanteigne. “We found Lilly to save her life, and she returned the favor. She almost died here.”

After being rushed to an emergency animal hospital, Lilly underwent two surgeries. “Lilly’s doing a lot better than she was almost a week ago,” he said. “She’s on her road to recovery now. It’ll be quite a long ways before she’s back up to speed.”